Brassiere



0. ERTESZEK May 30, 1961 BRASSIERE Filed Nov.

United States Patent BRASSIERE Olga Erteszek, 7915 Haskell Ave., Van Nuys, Calif.

Filed Nov. 2, 1959, Ser. No. 850,223

4 Claims. (Cl. 128-484) This invention has to do with improvements in brassieres, and has for its general object to incorporate in a novel brassiere construction, certain features tending to assure both form-fitting and comfort to the wearer.

The invention is concerned essentially with securing and maintaining of an elastically close fit of the brassiere to the wearer, and with comfort and with stretching of the back strap means, and during movement of the wearer. More particularly, the primary object of the invention is to accomplish in the manner hereinafter described, the maintenance of close fitting of the cup to the wearer through the provision of elastically expansible means connected with the cup lower portion and operable to expand during elastic expansion of the back strap means exerting left and right tension on the brassiere.

The invention contemplates the accomplishment of these objects by incorporating in the brassiere a contoured fabric cup structure in each of the left and right sections, that structure including elastically expansible means such as elastic material or its equivalent, connected with the cup lower portion preferably at the inside of the cup and oriented to stretch elastically and directionally left and right. Such stretching of the elastic material may occur for example during fitting of the brassiere to the wearer, for maintaining desired close fitting, and may be supplemented by additional stretching during movement of the wearer and in such manner as to assure the desired close fit. This function is further assured by forming the cup to include left and right shape retaining segments that are movable left and right at the cup lower portion, the expansible means or material being connected with the segments to stretch elastically and directionally left and right as the segments themselves are fitted to the wearer or adjusted to the wearers changing form during movement. In addition, the brassiere sections preferably include generally U-shaped tape means peripherally defining the bottom of the cup, the U-shaped tape lengths having relatively high-friction surfaces exposed at the inside of the sections for frictionally gripping the wearer. The provision of such high-friction U- shaped tape means permits maintenance of close fitting of the brassiere segments to the wearer in cooperation with the action of the expansible means connected with the cups to closely fit them to the wearer, all as will be apparent in the following description.

All the various features and objects of the invention, as well as the details of an illustrative embodiment, will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description of the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a view showing the brassiere as worn;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary enlargement showing in greater detail one section with the attached back and shoulder straps;

Fig. 3 is a view looking into the inside of one of the sections;

Figs. 4 and 5 are enlarged cross-sections taken respectively on lines 4-4 and 55 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view, Partially broken away showing the construction and the connection of the expansible elastic material, and of the cup segments shown in Fig. 3.

The present brassiere has in common with brassieres in general, a pair of sections, generally indicated at 10, each containing a cup 11 and connected at the top by a shoulder strap 12 with the back strap 13, the parts of which are terminally connected to the sections 10. Sections 10 are interconnected as shown at 14.

Each section 10 is peripherally defined by upper and lower tapes 15 and 16, the outer extents 17 and 18 of which converge to their connections at 19 with the back strap 13. Tapes 15 and 16 converge inwardly at 20 and 21 to spaced apart locations at 14 Where the tapes are interconnected by a central tape 22. The cup 11 within each section 10 is peripherally defined by a generally U- shaped tape 23 connected along its bottom extent at 24 to the lower tape 16 and connected at its upper ends 25 and 26 to the tape extents 17 and 20.

One object of the described tape frame structure is to afford a configuration which permits the application of supporting forces to each cup at locations about the cup area which are as uniformly spaced as practicable and great enough in number to assure corresponding uniformity in the cup support and therefore conformability of the cup to the wearer. The primary sources of support are the strap 12 through its connection at 27, the back strap sections 13 with their connections at 19 with tapes 15 and 16, and the juncture 14 between the sections. The support more locally given by the strap '12 to the top of the cup frame, preferably distributed by way of two terminals 28 and 29 attached to the tapes 17 and 20. Below, tension is transmitted from strap 13 through tape 17 to its juncture at 25 with tape 23, and at the bottom and at generally corresponding spacing, tension is transmitted from the back strap through tape 18 in tangential relation to the base of the connected U-shaped tape 23. Then at the inside, resistance to the tension imposed by the shoulder and back straps is imposed at the spaced interconnections of tape 22 with the central spaced extents of the tapes 20 and 21.

Referring to Fig. 3, each cup has a centrally apertured, fabric lining 30 peripherally sewed to the tapes 17, 20 and 23. Secured to the inside of the lining and in registration with tape 23 is an elastic tape 31 containing rubber threads so woven as to be exposed as in the nature of surface stitching, at 32 at the inside of the cup. The exposed threads of the elastomer present a soft gripping surface acting to stabilize and assure proper positioning of the cup. Preferably, the tape 31 is sewed at 33 to tape 23 only at the outside, leaving the major width free toward the inside of the cup. As illustrated, the cup assembly is completed by one or more layers of cupped fabric 34 sewed to the outsides of the tapes 15, 16 and 23 throughout their extents, the fabric also being sewed to the center tape 22.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 6, the centrally apertured, contoured fabric lining 30 includes left and right shape retaining segments 35 and 36, there being a split 37 between these segments as shown, whereby the segments are movable relative to one another at the cup lower portion. The segments are, however, interconnected by elastically expansible means 38 typically but not necessarily in the form of a rectangular sheet of elastic fabric stitched to the segments at 39, the stitching continuing along convergent lines 40 below the elastic material. Further, the material 38 is oriented to stretch elastically and directionally left and right at the inside of the cup as indicated by the arrows 41.

As explained in the introduction, the elastically expansible fabric 38 assures close fitting conformance of 3 the cup and particularly the segments 35 and 36 to the wearer at the lower inside of the cup. Such close fitting is maintained during fitting of the brassiere to the wearer accompanied by stretching of the back straps 13 which exert left and right tension on the sections 10, and also during movement of the wearer, since the cup segments 35 and 36 are resiliently pulled toward one another by the elastic strip 38.

I claim:

1. In a brassiere including back and shoulder strap means and left and right sections interconnected at the front of the brassiere, and also connected to said back and shoulder strap means, the improvement which comprises a contoured fabric cup structure contained by each section, each section being peripherally defined at the top by an upper tape and at the bottom by a generally U- shaped tape, said cup structure including individual left and right shape retaining contoured segments respectively extending at the left and right sides of each cup and also at the underside thereof, said structure including elastically expansible means for elastically resisting leftward and rightward relative separation of said shape retaining segments at the underside of the cup so that the cup will remain closely fitted to the wearer under all conditions, said means being locally and substantially centrally confined at the underside of the cup and connected with said cup segments at left and right spaced apart locations from which the segments extend left and right whereby said expansible means is oriented to stretch elastically and directionally left and right, said segments and said expansible means extending in mutually overlapping relation within each cup structure and above said lower tape.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 in which said expansible means includes a relatively wide band of elastic material at the inner concave underside of the cup and centrally thereof.

3. The invention as defined in claim 2 in which said cup structure includes fabric overlying said segments at the outer convex side of the cup, each segment being generally C-shaped.

4. A brassiere comprising a single longitudinally elastic back strap, a pair of sections interconnected at the front of the brassiere and each peripherally defined by independently tensionable upper and lower tapes extending respectively from the top and bottom of the section outwardly to converged terminal connections with said strap and extending inwardly to a central juncture of said sections, a cup within each section peripherally defined at the top by said upper tape and at the bottom by a generally U-shaped tape connected at its upper ends to said upper tape, said lower tape extending continuously from said terminal connections tangentially along the bottom of said U-shaped tape and in direct connection therewith to said central juncture so that in the worn condition of the brassiere the cup periphery defined by said U-shaped tape is supported from said single back strap at the bottom and upper ends of the U-shaped tape by the forces transmitted individually by said upper and lower tapes from the elastically tensioned back strap, flexible linings within the cups and attached to said U-shaped tapes, the linings including left and right segments within each cup, elastically expansible means interconnecting the left and right sections within each cup for elastically resisting leftward and rightward relative separation of said segments at the underside of the cup so that the cup will remain closely fitted to the wearer, each of said means being locally confined within and at the underside of each cup and connected with said segments at left and right spaced part locations whereby said expansible means is oriented to stretch elastically and directionally left and right, and shoulder straps extending from the tops of said cups to said back strap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,775,509 Camp Sept. 9, 1930 2,560,706 Spetalnik July 17, 1951 2,888,930 Coleman et a1 June 2, 1959 2,912,985 Plehn Nov. 17, 1959 

